Vince800

If I could like this post 1,000 times I would.
 
They'd probably do it Dragon Falls style. Perhaps just the ride in the empty warehouse, with the music cutting in & out, with the fountains just about spraying water.

They are very close to looking like the Professor Burps style yes.
 
Now if only this Grufflo thing was just a big joke & that actually, Professor Burps Bubbelworks was coming back in it's full glory... That would be too much fun though & we certainly can't have that!

Yes, I did notice on Youtube how other Mack log flumes from the same time period still have the original set up. I always assumed it was just a Merlin wide thing these modifications though as well as the new evac steps\platforms there was some structural work done around the trough in various places too.
 
 
I never realised that Dragon Falls was in such a bad way. Admittedly I don't go to the parks much but the times I do, any evacs or estops were usually caused by people fooling around standing up etc.  
 
It's ridiculous really, the other Mack log Flumes around the world seem to go on without issue. As for lack of attention to detail with Merlin, a really obvious comparison is to look at the cosmetic state of Vampire compared with the other Arrows suspended coasters still running around the world too. 

Interesting video. Superficially it isn't looking too bad and if the leaves were cleared out, it wouldn't look much different to how it did when it was running in recent years.
 
We don't know however what it is like structurally and it doesn't have any of the mods which were made to Dragon Falls some years back. It still has for example the crude (for the present day) evacuation steps on the lift hill (which he partially walks down in the video). On Dragon Falls, these were replaced with the much more sturdy and safe metal steps as well as evacuation platforms throughout the ride. I think it's no coincidence that Loggers & the Flume closed around the same time that Dragon Falls had these mods done to it being as they are the same type of flume. In the case of the flume they were going to be removing it anyway and with Loggers, I guess they're just not sure what the plans are at the moment.
 
In my opinion, if Dragon Falls was not so central to the park and such a substantial ride for Chessington (not to mention planning issues), this probably would have closed around the same time too. 
 
As for the lights being left on and the cameras, it's likely that this is part of a central system and not specific to the ride it's self. The camera DVRs may have other cameras from the old town area going back to those boxes as it's as good a place as any to store this equipment, I'm very surprised that it's all left unlocked though and seemingly easily accessible as the video shows. 

It's such a shame because these parks could be really good, they were in the past and that was with budgets a fraction of what Merlin could offer. The whole of Chessington's initial theme park idea (Dragon Falls, Runaway Train, 5th Dimenstion etc.) probably cost lest to build initially than what Merlin could supply the park with now. It wouldn't be too hard to bring it up to standard but it would take pride and investment. 
 
I'm not so much a theme park enthusiastic, I'm generally interested in engineering and theme park rides are absolutely fascinating in their workings. That being said I do like a good show with top notch sound & slighting and dark rides offer just that experience and when done well (Original Bubbleworks, Forbidden Tomb, 5th Dimension) they can be something absolutely spectacular. To me it seems that Tomb Blaster would be acceptable to run if the ride went round the track with none of the animations working, just the ride is running so "that'll do". There doesn't seem to be anyone there anymore who care about the show & if there are they're being ignored. 
 
By looking at the Youtube videos it seems to me that Tomb Blaster is getting lighter year by year and if they continue they may as well buy some LED light panels, put up a ceiling and call it "Office Block - The ride". 

Wow, what a joke! I can't believe that things like this are still continuing, do Merlin have no pride?
 
It's reasons like that why I didn't bother going to any of their attractions last year. There is absolutely no defence for this behaviour, they really do not care about their customers, it's just fortunate for them that most people don't seem to notice or care about the state of their attractions. Some serious investment needs to be made in all of their parks. I do find it very amusing how they're publicising a little bit of painting here and there as if it's some big thing - no, it's day to day maintenance!

Wow, what a joke! I can't believe that things like this are still continuing, do Merlin have no pride?
 
It's reasons like that why I didn't bother going to any of their attractions last year. There is absolutely no defence for this behaviour, they really do not care about their customers, it's just fortunate for them that most people don't seem to notice or care about the state of their attractions. Some serious investment needs to be made in all of their parks. I do find it very amusing how they're publicising a little bit of painting here and there as if it's some big thing - no, it's day to day maintenance!

They should do a Dragon Falls themed room in there. Completely bare exposed walls with trailing cables etc.
 
Those vinyls are going to get really grubby rather quickly.

The thought of going on a water ride and getting wet... why do people bother if they're going to stand up to avoid getting wet. As draconian as it sounds, perhaps the park need to just make examples of people who do decide to foolishly stand up and just issue bans, the same way that there are consequences for doing stupid things on other rides, eventually people might get the message.

Don't like to be negative but last I looked most their UK attractions looked like this. They don't budget for any maintenance other than H&S critical. This is the result - closed attractions and terrible presentation.

They should do a Dragon Falls themed room in there. Completely bare exposed walls with trailing cables etc.
 
Those vinyls are going to get really grubby rather quickly.

Enthusiasts acting self-entitled and thinking they're better than other people 'because they're enthusiasts'.

Remember rameses often e-stops if there is a larger guest on the ride if the restraints move slightly which is a fail safe system , although an annoying one

He moves quite badly to how he was designed and sticking the station theme outside on cheap speakers, with a tinny downloaded transfer of the music, sounds so tack and un-atmospheric, robbing it of any interest. You get far better sound design / setup at your average temporary scare maze, let alone a permanent queue at a high-priced theme park.
 
The music doesn't even loop anymore, it has a gap every minute like 2006 Bubbleworks all over again (which would be so easy to fix). By the time you reach the station, you've heard it over and over.

Remove the theme music from the queueline speakers Chessington.
 
If you understand anything about themed audio, why was it not instinctive to create a basic ambient track for use outside? A quality ambient track could be knocked up using a professional royalty free sound library in 15 minutes, if you have some understanding, ability and imagination. Terrible standards at this park.

Wake up to that? I'll pass thanks.
 

Chessington holds nothing of The 5th Dimension at all, all that's left of it in the ride that I ever saw when I worked in the building was an old fire alarm system still labelled with the 5th Dimension scenes and some rocky ravine scenery from the swamp that was kept as you enter the trommel.
 
The stopping positions were changed - where the snake pit is now, this was Zappomatic's first scene, the train travels straight through now. The second stop is the same, where the ice scene was. In the swamp, it used to slow down to a crawl, instead the train now travels at normal speed through the fire pit. The final scene is the same.

The queue line is the same interior clue where you walk past the souk windows today. The steps up to the operator console are the same, but are now behind a wall so it feels different. It was very clever how they turned that open plan, cattle pen space into its own themed walkthrough - which in the Terror Tomb days was brilliant and atmospheric (today it is awful, flooded with white LED light and pants).

There is a small amount of 5D blue & silver queue space left hidden in the corner of the building behind a wall so they say  

Commenting on an old thread here but it seems pointless starting a new one when this is relevant to the original discussion. After watching the 5th Dimension Documentary on Vimeo, it has really rekindled my interest with the ride.
 
This might be one for you @Wumbamillio, are there anything in the way of remnants of the Fifth Dimension (Other than the actual Mack transit system) in Chessington at all? I have for years been looking around in the Tomb but Farmer Studios did such a good job that it really is unrecognisable from the original ride. It has been much easier to find back of house things in the building since 2016 due to the way that the sets are absolutely flooded with light but it still doesn't leave any real clues.
 
What ever happened to the large open plan queue line with the TVs? I've been wondering if this is still behind the façades or if I am mapping the building out incorrectly.
 
Do we know if the stops are in the original places still? Because the first stop in the Tomb seems to be a lot later on than when you'd originally meet with Zapomatic. I think I've read somewhere (might have even been here) that the turning is built into the transit system so this is still all in the original places.
 
Are any of the Zapomatic's stored around Chessington still or have they just been thrown out like the destructive Imperial Leather Bubbleworks replacement?

Wow yeah that's just....How on earth did they manage that! There's 30 years of management decisions summed up in that elephant.

It's a bit like Rumba Rapids as far as theming goes these days. What we have is Rapids Ride 1 & Log Flume 1 IMO.

They didn't dear, it was a PR stunt to get more guests in over the summer, and it worked. They also lied to all the press that the ride had been the same for the past 25 years in order to capitalise on the 'nostalgia' of the original and get more attention.
 
They did not give a jot about the Bubbleworks and they knew/cared very little about the original. But they knew they could capitalise on it and it worked. They also (deliberately) ensured the ride stayed untouched in broken shoddy state, for the last 5 years while they set up their new plans. Any new ride would look good against something as ruined as the state Bubbleworks was in, and the "seen better days" excuse is easy to use if you've not spent any money on show maintenance for years!
 
The send off consisted of an actor in a bad costume, and a tour that existed only to squeeze some more money off guests, filled with made up facts and nonsense.

Not being a moaner, this is simply what happened, or what many witnessed happening.

A Merlin version of Professor Burp's would be the biggest tragedy known to man, they would go to town with brandifying it and sucking out its soul, we already had the 2p budget Prof Burp 'tribute' and that was quite enough!
 
(not the actor's effort, he was great, didn't really have a clue about the ride but did so well with what he'd been given! the park's attitude I'm on about)
 
Merlin wouldn't (and don't) understand the ride's appeal, because it was about colour and energy rather than IPs or abandoned warehouse "serious and edgy" themes.

They are very close to looking like the Professor Burps style yes.
 
Now if only this Grufflo thing was just a big joke & that actually, Professor Burps Bubbelworks was coming back in it's full glory... That would be too much fun though & we certainly can't have that!

All UK Thrills and Attractions  have posted an update on the Gruffalo attraction showing the ride boats scattered around the old Carousel site.
 


The boats have been repainted a wooden brown on the outside and lighter brown on the  inside. I would say the outer layer resembles the old Professor Burp style boats, but I'm probably wrong. Different ride anyway.
 
Can't help but also notice the fence in the background. Probably a new inflatable game attraction.

Not my work, it's actually my brother's. I haven't got the patience to mess around with recreations on Planet Coaster.
 
Anyhow, Youtube links if anyone is interested:
 
 
 

Wow yeah that's just....How on earth did they manage that! There's 30 years of management decisions summed up in that elephant.